Delhi Capitals (DC) are enduring a dismal Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign. Having lost 8 of their 13 league matches, they are already out of the playoffs race.
Amidst the failure, Prithvi Shaw’s listless performance has been the biggest letdown for DC this season, feels assistant coach Shane Watson.
According to Watson, Shaw should be dominating international cricket considering the incredible talent that he possesses.
The young opener has had a terrible start to the IPL 16 season, registering scores of 12, 7, 0, 15, 0 and 13 in six matches. As a result, he was dropped from DC’s playing XI.
"One of the most disappointing parts for DC this season was Prithvi Shaw. He's one of the most beautiful batters to watch and take down the best bowling with the skills that he's got," Watson told reporters on the eve of DC's last league match against Chennai Super Kings on May 20.
"And knowing that we gave him a big stretch to find his feet. We also knew he has been a little bit inconsistent as well in the past few years."
On Wednesday (May 17), Prithvi was given an opportunity in a dead-rubber fixture against Punjab Kings and the right-hander made a mark with a stunning knock of 54 in 38 balls.
"But missing out on a few games, he really centralised and focussed on what direction he wants to go. Because he's so incredibly skilled with the bat in hand he needs to bring every part of the game together.
"He should be dominating international cricket. But sometime it takes people some time to navigate how they can do that consistently. He certainly had an extra bit of fire in his belly the other day."
Watson feels that the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi doesn't suit their batting line-up.
"The pitches here in Delhi haven't been great. They are probably great if you have a different type of set up to the team... if you have a lot of Indian top-order batters. But that's not the makeup of our team."
Earlier this week, DC skipper David Warner took a dig at the pitches back home in Delhi after his team won a high-scoring thriller against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.
The Capitals piled up a mammoth 213/2 on the board before restricting PBKS to 198/8 to seal a 15-run victory.
"As we saw when we are able to play in good, traditional cricket wicket, true surface, ball doesn't really turn a lot but is going through nicely we saw what can happen with our overseas players, Prithvi that's our strength," Watson said.
"But we come here to Delhi unfortunately with the amount of cricket being played on this wicket block, it's very dry and doesn't have much grass, which exposes the set up of our batting at the moment. Hopefully, the conditions will be a bit more suitable for our team."
(With PTI Inputs)
